During one return home, Sir Percy tells the story of André Vallon, a young Jacobin, to the Prince of Wales. André, wishing to revenge himself on a despotic seigneur, uses the Jacobins' rise to force the seigneur's daughter to marry him. Once wed, they come to love each other, only to have the old seigneur denounce André in an attempt to free his daughter.

Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1865-1947) was a Hungarian-born British novelist and playwright. She is best known for her series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel, the alter ego of Sir Percy Blakeney, a wealthy English fop who transforms into a formidable swordsman and a quick-thinking escape artist, establishing the "hero with a secret identity" into popular culture.